“Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga Reign Supreme as Holiday Tunes Fade from the Charts!”

The collaboration between Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars held the No. 2 position on the Hot 100 for four weeks in November before being displaced from the top 10 by the annual influx of holiday tracks. This week, it finally climbs to the chart’s pinnacle.

John Esparza/Courtesy of the artist

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John Esparza/Courtesy of the artist

The holiday tracks and albums have ultimately been shelved for another year, offering a clean slate as we commence 2025. SZA’s deluxe version of SOS retains the No. 1 spot on Billboard‘s album rankings, while Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga’s “Die With a Smile” has ascended to the peak of the Hot 100 singles chart. With the Grammys approaching, it’s yet another significant week for the usual names—Kendrick Lamar! Sabrina Carpenter! Taylor Swift! Billie Eilish!—but a few new faces are gaining momentum.

TOP ALBUMS

Last week, SZA’s album, SOS, which is two years old, reclaimed the top position on the Billboard 200, thanks to a deluxe edition — named SOS Deluxe: LANA — that expanded the collection from an already impressive 23 tracks to a super-impressive 38. SOS has remained in the top 20 for more than two years, so the addition of 15 new songs was sufficient to propel the album ahead of a slew of traditional holiday favorites by artists such as Michael Bublé, Bing Crosby, and Mariah Carey.

This week, we re-enter a mostly holiday-free reality in which every Christmas album has been mercifully relegated to deep storage (or at least the lower tiers of the Billboard 200). Therefore, it’s no surprise that SZA remains firm at No. 1 — marking SOS‘s 12th nonconsecutive week at the helm of the albums chart, which is the longest duration at No. 1 for a female artist in R&B or hip-hop since Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut dominated the charts for 14 weeks back in 1986. (The soundtrack for the 1992 film The Bodyguard held the top position for 20 weeks, but Houston performed only about half of its songs, thus disqualifying it on a technicality.)

SZA is, of course, already having a remarkable 2025; in addition to her own chart-topping success, she also plays a significant role on the album sitting at No. 2 — Kendrick Lamar’s GNX, which has climbed from No. 5 — and has a film (One of Them Days) set to premiere later this month. With Lamar headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Feb. 9 and the two of them preparing for a joint tour… well, it’s safe to say that SZA has many high-profile performances lined up in her immediate future.

Every album within the top 10 is trending upward in terms of chart position, though this only tells part of the narrative; most of these entries have seen declines in sales, airplay, and/or streaming compared to the previous week, yet they surge up the chart thanks to the vacuum created by the conclusion of the holiday season. They include, in order: Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet (from No. 12 to No. 3), the Wicked soundtrack (from No. 8 to No. 4), Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft (from No. 14 to No. 5), Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department (from No. 7 to No. 6), Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (from No. 16 to No. 7), Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time (from No. 29 to No. 8), Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us (from No. 25 to No. 9), and Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA (from No. 27 to No. 10).

Consequently, the narrative remains relatively unchanged aside from the holidays: It’s SZA’s and Kendrick Lamar’s domain, with Carpenter, Swift, Roan, and Eilish still leading as the Grammys approach; Wicked proves to be a genuine sensation, Wallen dominates the country genre (commercially, at least), and Abrams continues her ascent. Next week, anticipate more of the same, with one notable exception: Bad Bunny’s fresh record, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, was released on Sunday and is bound to pose significant competition for SZA in her bid for the top position.

TOP SONGS

There was bound to be substantial turnover on the Hot 100 singles chart, as numerous holiday staples — including last week’s top 16 songs and 23 of the top 25 — have all sunk into well-earned oblivion. Billboard employs an unusual system where vintage/catalog songs may only reach the Hot 100 if they rank within the top 50, which accounts for the loss of 38 of the previous week’s top 50 singles, in addition to four newly released holiday tracks from Laufey, Mark Ambor, and Kesha, all of which were positioned between No. 56 and No. 89. That’s a substantial turnover, especially near the summit, leading to some significant advances on the chart.

Leading the pack is Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile,” which has finally ascended to the chart’s apex in its 20th week, climbing from No. 17 — the highest rank achieved by a non-holiday track last week — to No. 1. This marks the slowest ascent to No. 1 since… well, last March, when Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” reached the top in its 32nd week on the charts.

“Die With a Smile” occupied the No. 2 spot for four weeks in November, and the song that prevented it from reaching the summit — during a nonconsecutive 19-week span at No. 1 — now surges from No. 24 to No. 2. That track, of course, is Shaboozey’s indomitable “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which is just one week away from establishing a new all-time record outright. It is currently tied for the longest-ever duration at No. 1; its 19-week reign matches that of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus)” from 2019.

The biggest hits of 2024 continue flooding back into the top 10: Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” climbs from No. 28 to No. 3, while the previously mentioned “Lose Control” makes an even more remarkable leap. Due to that rule regarding old songs only hitting the Hot 100 if they are in the top 50, “Lose Control” — which, keep in mind, dates back to 2023 — was pushed off the chart entirely last week. However, with the holiday songs now out of the way, it re-debuts on the Hot 100 at… No. 4, matching the position it held at the end of November. (Five additional songs re-enter the top 20 of the chart under similar circumstances: Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” at No. 12, Hozier’s “Too Sweet,” at No. 14, Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!,” at No. 17,

Myles Smith’s “Stargazing,” positioned at No. 19, along with Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” situated at No. 20.)

Bruno Mars occupies both ends of the top five, with another collaboration — this one named “APT.,” featuring ROSÉ from the K-pop ensemble BLACKPINK — ascends from No. 34 to No. 5. While a majority of the top 10 comprises tracks recovering to the ranks they held prior to the holidays, “APT.” remarkably achieves a new chart high this week: It initially launched at No. 8 on the chart dated Nov. 2, then dipped out of the top 10 until now. The tune had been indicating signs of ascension even as seasonal songs overshadowed it in the top 30, and now it finds itself in the top five for what seems to be a lasting presence.

In reference to emerging talents, Gracie Abrams’ “That’s So True” rises from No. 33 to No. 6. Kendrick Lamar’s “Luther (feat. SZA)” bounces back into the top 10, climbing from No. 27 to No. 7, while Post Malone’s long-standing “I Had Some Help (feat. Morgan Wallen)” makes an even greater jump, moving from No. 47 to No. 8. Sabrina Carpenter completes the top 10 with “Espresso” (from No. 46 to No. 9) and “Taste” (from No. 41 to No. 10).

WORTH NOTING

As the festivities conclude and Billboard primarily serves as a reminder of what the scene looked like in November 2024, it’s valuable to observe a few weeks’ worth of charts to identify what might be emerging in the upcoming year. Because amid the usual dominance, a handful of new faces are also displaying signs of advancement.

ROSÉ: As previously mentioned, the BLACKPINK member’s collaboration with Bruno Mars, “APT.,” has encountered considerable momentum over the holiday period, re-entering the top five for the first occasion. However, it’s not limited to one hit: Following an initial debut at No. 3 and subsequently dropping out of the top 10, ROSÉ’s fresh album, rosie, surges from No. 32 back up to No. 12 this week. Given how swiftly most K-pop artists fall down the Billboard 200 after noteworthy debuts, rosie is demonstrating a remarkable level of stamina.

K-pop in general: On the topic of K-pop, recent years have witnessed an influx of performers debuting at or near the pinnacle of the Billboard 200, only to fizzle out to make way for the next sensation. Yet, just below ROSÉ on this week’s Billboard 200, holding at No. 13, is Hop by the K-pop sensation Stray Kids; it marks the sixth consecutive release by the group to debut at No. 1, all in the past three years. Maintaining position amidst the significant holiday migration isn’t precisely indicative of growth, but we’re still discussing three uninterrupted weeks in the top 15. Considering Stray Kids’ relative endurance and the rise of ROSÉ — not to mention Jimin’s months-old track “Who,” which makes a return to the Hot 100 at No. 24 this week — we are observing a greater number of K-pop artists illustrate longevity on the U.S. charts.

Lola Young: The British pop and R&B performer released her second studio album, This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway, back in June 2024. The album finally made its way onto the Billboard 200 a few weeks ago, entering the list at No. 180, only to drop off due to the holiday influx. This week, however, it rebounds to No. 105. More notably, her single “Lucky” — which had been navigating through the lower tier of the Hot 100 for about a month — jumps from No. 61 to No. 25. If you suspect you might be witnessing the rise of the next word-of-mouth pop sensation, Young has evidence to support that claim. (Young actually has two tracks in this week’s top 40; she’s a featured artist on Tyler, The Creator’s “Like Him,” which climbs from No. 66 to No. 37.)

Country music: It’s not merely that Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time rebounds into the top 10, where it has resided for most of the past two years. (He also has a new single titled “Smile,” which debuts on the Hot 100 at No. 27, alongside his usual array of enduring hits.) Many country tunes are reaching new Hot 100 summits this week: Tucker Wetmore’s “Wind Up Missin’ You,” which has been on the chart for an impressive 40 weeks, ascends from No. 65 to No. 31, Zach Top’s “I Never Lie” accelerates from No. 72 to No. 38, and Lainey Wilson’s “4x4xU” races from No. 94 to No. 45, to name just a few examples. Even Shaboozey, who struggled to engage listeners with a song other than “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” is making significant strides with “Good News,” which leaps from No. 95 to No. 47.

Hopeful prospects for those who have been longing for new tracks to enrich their new year.